Weisman Art Museum is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. Founded in 1934 as University Gallery, the museum was originally housed in an upper floor of the university's

Northrop Auditorium Cyrus Northrop Memorial Auditorium (commonly known as Northrop Auditorium or simply Northrop) is a performing arts venue at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is named in honor of Cyrus Northrop, the university's second pres ...

. In 1993, the museum moved to its current building, designed by the Canadian-born American architect

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions. Gehry rose to prominence in th ...

, and renamed in honor of art collector and philanthropist Frederick R. Weisman. Widely known as a "modern art museum," its 20,000+ acquisitions include large collections of traditional Korean furniture and modern American Art, including collections of work by

Marsden Hartley Marsden Hartley (January 4, 1877 – September 2, 1943) was an American Modernist painter, poet, and essayist. Hartley developed his painting abilities by observing Cubist artists in Paris and Berlin. Early life and education Hartley was bor ...

Alfred Maurer Alfred Maurer may refer to: * Alfred Henry Maurer (1868–1932), American modernist painter * Alfred Maurer (politician) Alfred Maurer (2 December 1888 Tallinn - 20 September 1954 Stockholm) was an Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of ...

Charles Biederman Charles Biederman, born Karel Joseph Biederman (August 23, 1906 – December 26, 2004), was an American abstract artist who lived in Chicago, New York City, and Paris before settling in Red Wing, Minnesota. Biography Born in Cleveland in 190 ...

Frederick Rand Weisman

Frederick Rand Weisman (April 27, 1912 – September 11, 1994) was a Minneapolis native who became well known as an art collector in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. In 1982 Weisman purchased an estate in the

Holmby Hills Holmby Hills is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. The neighborhood was developed in the early 20th century by the Janss Investment Company, which developed the rest of Westwood, Los Angeles as well as oth ...

area of Los Angeles that would serve as a showcase for his personal collection of 20th-century art. When he opened the art collection to the public, he wanted to share the experience of ''living'' with art, rather than the usual, more formal protocol of seeing art in a gallery or museum. The estate remains the home of the

Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation The Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation is a non-profit arts foundation located on North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills district of Los Angeles, California. Modern and contemporary artwork in the Frederick R. Weisman collection are displaye ...

to this day. The Weisman Foundation estate is a two-story

Mediterranean Revival Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references to Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...

house designed in the late 1920s by Los Angeles architect Gordon B. Kaufmann. The Weisman home exhibits the fine craftsmanship characteristic of the period, including custom decorative treatments on the walls and ceilings. Today the foundation estate, annex, and surrounding gardens are made accessible to the public by appointment only. Another museum bearing Weisman's name, the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, is located on the campus of

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

Museum building

The current museum building was designed by world-renowned architect

with MSR Design as architect of record and completed in November 1993. It is one of the major landmarks on the

campus, situated on a bluff overlooking the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

at the east end of the Washington Avenue Bridge. The abstract structure is considered highly significant because it was built prior to the widespread use of

computer aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

in architecture. The building presents two faces, depending on which side it is viewed from. To the south and east, it presents a brick facade that blends with the historic buildings along

Northrop Mall The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the flagship institution of th ...

. To the north and west, it is an abstraction of a fish and waterfall in curving and angular brushed steel sheets. The stainless steel skin was fabricated and installed by the A. Zahner Company, a frequent collaborator with Gehry's office. The museum received a major addition, also designed by Frank Gehry, in 2011. HGA Architects and Engineers served as local consultants for the project.

Gallery

File:Weisman-Art-Museum-2006-11-05.jpg, A closeup of the

-designed building File:Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum (15188332393).jpg, Main entrance File:Maurer, Standing Female Nude.jpg,

's ''Standing Female Nude'' (1927-1928) is part of the museum's collection File:Chicken Painting.jpg,

Doug Argue Doug Argue (born January 21, 1962, in Saint Paul, Minnesota) is an American painter based in New York City, New York (state), New York, United States. Career After attending art classes at Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota ...

, ''Untitled'', 1994 File:Adelard the Drowned, Master of the 'Phantom' by Marsden Hartley.jpg, ''Adelard the Drowned, Master of the "Phantom"'',

, c. 1938-1939 File:Excavation Penn Station Ernest Lawson 1906.jpeg, ''Excavation - Penn Station'',

Ernest Lawson Ernest Lawson (March 22, 1873 – December 18, 1939) was a Canadian-American painter and exhibited his work at the Canadian Art Club and as a member of the American group The Eight (Ashcan School), The Eight, artists who formed a loose asso ...

, 1906

References

External links

*
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum records
University Archives, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities {{authority control Frank Gehry buildings Museums in Minneapolis Art museums and galleries in Minnesota University museums in Minnesota Modern art museums in the United States Contemporary crafts museums in the United States University of Minnesota Art museums and galleries established in 1993 Deconstructivism Expressionist architecture Postmodern architecture in Minnesota Art museums and galleries established in 1934 1934 establishments in Minnesota

Frederick Rand Weisman

Museum building

Gallery

See also

References

External links